With it being National Stress Awareness Month, author Noa Belling shares some simple strategies for minimising the effects of stress on your body and mind.
STRESS IS PART OF LIFE. IT can be positive when it keeps you out of danger or motivates you; but it can be negative when you are stressed beyond your ability to cope, such as when stress goes on for too long or becomes too intense.
Signs could be distress, over whelm, burnout, irritability, chronic anxiety or depression. On a physical level, negative stress depletes your energ y and compromises physical health, such as interfering with healthy immune and digestive function. Stress also compromises your mental health and interferes with your ability to think clearly, rationally, and creatively.
When you relax, your physical and mental health can thrive. My five tips for on-the-spot stress management will help you do just that as they’re desig ned to calm your body and mind, guiding you to feel more relaxed and in control, and building stress resilience.
1 Open your heart
This can be a helpful pause point at any time of day, especially when a lot has been going on, or it can be done in the morning to set an intention for the day.
●Place one hand on the centre of your chest and notice how it feels. This simple gesture can draw attention down from your head/thoughts and into your hear t. Tune in to your feelings. It can also encourage you to prioritise what feels most impor tant in this moment.
●You might consider a brief wish for yourself for the day such as strength, gentleness or trust. Take a moment to breathe this wish through you to set the intention.
●To amplify the experience, extend your wish outwards to others who might need it in your circles and beyond. Opening your hear t in this expansive way is an ancient wisdom practice seen in Buddhism to help cultivate compassion for others.
●BENEFITS: This practice helps you build emotional awareness and greater resilience to stress, as well as become more loving to yourself and others.
2 COME INTO THE NOW
Only in your mind can you dwell on the past or worry about the future. This can perpetuate your challenges, distracting you from experiencing joy in the moment and from realising what you are capable of. Coming into the present moment can be a remedy, clearing your mind, opening your ability to be solution-focused and refreshing your energy. A quick path into the present moment is to turn your attention outwards to notice your environment. The “3-3-3” technique can help with this as it involves drawing on three of your five senses, sight, sound and physical sensation, to anchor you in the moment.
●Pause to look at three objects in your environment. Then listen out for three sounds, near and far. Then move or stretch out three body parts. This can bring the a
